KUALA LUMPUR: Summonses issued under the Automated Enforcement System (AES) will not be written off even though court proceedings to hear them have been frozen.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail said the summonses that have been issued to date were legally binding.

“I must reiterate that the summonses are valid. But I do not allow prosecution because I need all issues (related to AES) to be sorted out first,” he said when met at the Transformation of Security and Fundamental Rights Legislation conference here yesterday.

Gani said his office needed time to sort out issues relating to the AES as well as to ensure all regulations and procedures were in place before court proceedings were initiated.

The A-G's Chambers decided to freeze all court proceedings related to summonses issued under the AES after legal concerns were raised by certain quarters.

MCA had called for a six-month trial period to educate road users on the implementation of the AES and to give them time to adjust to the system.

Gani also said he would be meeting the Bar Council soon to discuss the proposed reforms on legal education.

He added that discussions would also focus on the formation of a high-level task force to gather opinion and views from relevant stakeholders.

He said he had agreed to the reform which would also cover language proficiency, particularly English.

“This is our effort to transform the country's legal sector. The Government is transforming and all the processes must move in tandem. We want to do our part to ensure that Malaysia provides the best possible service in all sectors.

“We will also rope in legal representatives from Sabah and Sarawak to get their views. The Chambers and Bar Council hope we can come up with a list of concrete ideas because we want to see the reforms materialise,” he said.

On another matter, the A-G said he had yet to receive any report about a website which featured an article defaming a certain High Court judge.

“If this is true, the website's action is a serious one. But I have not received any report on this and I am hearing it for the first time from you (reporters),” he said.

Earlier at the conference, Gani said the Media Council Bill was currently being drafted and his office had eight meetings with various media representatives including the Foreign Correspondents Club and bloggers.

He added that with the abolition of Sedition Act 1948, legal recourse could still be sought through criminal and civil defamation or the laws of contempt.KUALA LUMPUR: Summonses issued under the Automated Enforcement System (AES) will not be written off even though court proceedings to hear them have been frozen.

“I must reiterate that the summonses are valid. But I do not allow prosecution because I need all issues (related to AES) to be sorted out first,” he said when met at the Transformation of Security and Fundamental Rights Legislation conference here yesterday.

Gani said his office needed time to sort out issues relating to the AES as well as to ensure all regulations and procedures were in place before court proceedings were initiated.

The A-G's Chambers decided to freeze all court proceedings related to summonses issued under the AES after legal concerns were raised by certain quarters.

MCA had called for a six-month trial period to educate road users on the implementation of the AES and to give them time to adjust to the system.

Gani also said he would be meeting the Bar Council soon to discuss the proposed reforms on legal education.

He added that discussions would also focus on the formation of a high-level task force to gather opinion and views from relevant stakeholders.

He said he had agreed to the reform which would also cover language proficiency, particularly English.

“This is our effort to transform the country's legal sector. The Government is transforming and all the processes must move in tandem. We want to do our part to ensure that Malaysia provides the best possible service in all sectors.

“We will also rope in legal representatives from Sabah and Sarawak to get their views. The Chambers and Bar Council hope we can come up with a list of concrete ideas because we want to see the reforms materialise,” he said.

On another matter, the A-G said he had yet to receive any report about a website which featured an article defaming a certain High Court judge.

“If this is true, the website's action is a serious one. But I have not received any report on this and I am hearing it for the first time from you (reporters),” he said.

Earlier at the conference, Gani said the Media Council Bill was currently being drafted and his office had eight meetings with various media representatives including the Foreign Correspondents Club and bloggers.

He added that with the abolition of Sedition Act 1948, legal recourse could still be sought through criminal and civil defamation or the laws of contempt.